Troubleshoot MDB Files
Common MDB Opening Problems
SAS Not Present
When you double-click your MDB file, you may see a dialog box from your operating system stating that it "Cannot Open This File Type". Customarily, this means that SAS is not installed on %%os%%. Because your operating system doesn't know what to do with this file, you won't be able to open it by double-clicking.
Tip: When you have another program installed that you know will open your MDB, you can select it from the other programs listed (see "Show Apps").
Wrong Version of SAS is Installed
Your Microsoft Access Database file is incompatible with SAS because you might have the wrong version installed. If you've got the wrong version of SAS installed, you'll need to install the correct version. This issue mainly occurs when your Microsoft Access Database file was created by a newer version of SAS than you have on your PC.
Tip: Sometimes you can get a clue about the version of MDB file you have by right clicking on the file, then clicking on "Properties" (Windows) or "Get Info" (Mac OSX).
Conclusion: The majority of MDB file opening issues are due to not having the correct SAS version installed.
Other Causes of MDB File Opening Problems
Although you might already have SAS or another MDB-associated software installed on your computer, you can still encounter problems opening Microsoft Access Database files. There can be other issues - unrelated to software - preventing you from opening MDB files. Issues that aren't software-related:
- File references in the Windows Registry for MDB are wrong
- Deletion of the MDB file description from the Registry by mistake
- Incomplete or bad installation of a software application associated with the MDB format
- Something has caused file corruption of your MDB
- Your MDB is infected with malware
- Hardware associated with MDB has outdated drivers
- Windows has inadequate resources to open your Microsoft Access Database file
Quiz: What file extension was created by Adobe Corporation in 1992?
That's Correct!
The PDF, or Portable Document Format, was first mentioned by Adobe at the Seybold conference in San Jose in 1991. Version 1.0 wasn't announced until the following year at the COMDEX Fall conference where it was awarded ‘best of Comdex’.
Close, but not quite...
The PDF, or Portable Document Format, was first mentioned by Adobe at the Seybold conference in San Jose in 1991. Version 1.0 wasn't announced until the following year at the COMDEX Fall conference where it was awarded ‘best of Comdex’.